Science subjects and I parted ways when I opted for humanities after my tenth grade. I attribute my ignorance regarding Nikola Tesla and his works to this separation of ways from early on. Recently though I had the good fortune to learn a great deal more about this famous inventor and in the process was left speechless as much at my ignorance as at his contributions.

It was our first day in Belgrade, technically it was the second since we had landed the previous evening. Anyways… It had rained the previous night and the temperature had plummeted. As a result we woke up to dark clouds hovering over the city and a chilly wind. The possibility of more rain was still in the air. Our ‘hosts’ had decided this was the right day to visit the Nikola Tesla Museum.

The Second Born and his girlfriend picked us up from the hotel and off we went to see the museum dedicated to the amazing Nikola Tesla’s life and is also his final resting place. The museum is housed in a residential villa and contains thousands of original documents, books and journals, also photographs, historical technical objects as also a number of instruments, apparatuses and plans and drawings.

When we reached, there were people gathered outside the museum door. Visitors, we learnt, were let in in batches and we had to await our turn. Soon enough the first set of people came out and it was our group’s turn. First and foremost on the agenda was a movie about Nikola Tesla’s life.

Born to Serbian parents in Smiljan (now in Croatia) in the then Austrian Empire, Nikola Tesla studied engineering and physics without getting a degree. Gaining practical experience was enough to spur him on to be a renowned inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system. I will not go into more details of because it is all available on the net. You can even take a virtual tour of the museum online. Suffice to say what I heard about his inventions and his role in making life what it is today for us left me amazed.

After the movie show there were some practical demonstrations about the working of some of his inventions. We also saw the items on display, including the suit he wore And then it was time for us to leave and the next group to step in. As we stepped out into the chilly day outside I couldn’t help but feel thankful for the opportunity I got to acquaint myself with his works. It was time well spent.

Here are some pictures from my visit:

© Shail Mohan 2022